There are few musical acts more popular among the coveted teenage market than boy band One Direction. That soaring fame, however, did not preclude one member from spending the weekend defending an innocuous social media post.

Singer Liam Payne took to Twitter Saturday in an effort to show his support for A&E’s hit reality program “Duck Dynasty.” Of course, given the recent outrage over cast member Phil Robertson’s biblical view of homosexuality, leftists consider any fan of the show to be an intolerant bigot by association.

Payne’s tweet was directed toward cast member Willie Robertson and merely expressed his appreciation of the Robertson family’s “business prosperities” and “family values.”

Still, the utterly inoffensive message was blown entirely out of proportion by those driven by a radical homosexual agenda. One of the band’s biggest fans – and an Internet star in his own right – posted a response claiming Payne’s tweet “literally changes everything…”

Such hyperbole is common among radical leftists. Outspokenly gay blogger Perez Hilton was among many who claimed the tweet showed support for homophobia, while others predicted the message would cost One Direction to lose fans.

Like for real though if that tweet from @Real_Liam_Payne is legit he’s made a huge mistake. You realize how many gay fans 1D has, right?

Unlike many who choose to simply absorb – or ignore – such absurd rhetoric, Payne decided to defend himself in a series of subsequent tweets. The sometimes profanity-laced responses included his assertion that merely enjoying a television program does not mean he endorses everything its cast and crew believe.

I just watched a show and I liked it as most people do stop sitting in my twitter and do your research #lazyjournos

Furthermore, he chastised the “lazy” journalists who took one comment out of context in an attempt to portray him as a villain.

Just as with the original scandal involving Robertson, though, it seems Payne had plenty of public support behind him. While not reported by mainstream news sources, the original tweet – along with his follow-up responses – received tens of thousands of retweets.

Willie Robertson was among those who expressed appreciation for the kind sentiment, congratulating Payne on his success and urging him to “Stay strong in this nutty world.”

Political correctness has so transformed this nation that merely watching a television program can earn someone the hate of intellectually dishonest leftists everywhere. Fortunately, this 20-year-old superstar is mature enough to see the absurdity in such generalizations and is not afraid to speak out against them.